At Risk Youth
by iliketocolor
Summary: Juvie was a well placed excuse for Puck's disappearance during season 2. When his father returns and begins to beat Puck senseless, Puck runs. Living on the streets for a week makes him do some things he regrets, but getting a phone call just in time, might just save his life. Trigger Warning: Child abuse, drug and alcohol use
1. Chapter 1

The halls of McKinley were the second to last place that Puck wanted to be. His only saving grace was that school was better than his past two weeks on the streets of Columbus.

He walked towards the choir room, hoping there wouldn't be too many questions from the glee kids. The only thing he was sure of was that they all thought he was in juvie over the past couple weeks. When he had left, he wasn't sure the lie would stick, but luckily, everyone already expected Puck to end up in juvie at some point in his life.

* * *

**Two weeks before**

"Noah, honey, can you come downstairs?" Mrs. Puckerman's voice was light but commanding, making Puck wonder what he'd done this time.

As he paused his game of Call of Duty and got off his bed, he sighed, shouting back to her, "Coming."

He walked down the stairs towards the living room and stopped in disbelief at the man in front of him.

"Dad?"

"Hey son. Long time no see," his father said with a laugh.

Puck shook his head and then looked from his father to his mother and back again. "Why are you here?"

"Come on, don't be rude. I'm here to see my family."

"We haven't been your family for like 6 years… and the years before that are debatable too." Puck tried to push back the memories that were rushing to the front of his thoughts.

"Noah," his mother interrupted. "I ran into your father at Temple. He's better now. We need to give him a second chance."

Puck could see he wasn't going to win this. If his dad wanted to suddenly come back, there was no way Puck could keep him away. "Whatever. I'm going out."

Not leaving time for a reply, Puck took his coat and keys from the chair by the door and walked out to his truck. He would need massive amounts of alcohol to fight off the memories tonight.

* * *

After stopping at a liquor store and getting a bottle of Jack Daniels with his fake ID, Puck drove to the high school. He hated school, but he did love sitting on the football field. Back when he and Finn were close, the two of them would sometimes sit on the empty field and drink a few beers, talking about girls, football, and cars.

Now he was alone. He didn't have a best friend and he didn't have anyone to care that his dad was back and Puck wouldn't be okay. He sat by the goalpost and started drinking, hoping that his dad would leave sometime soon before he could cause any real damage.

Halfway through the bottle of whiskey, Puck began to see the flaw in his current plan. The alcohol was only making him remember more vividly the last time his father was around.

"_You stupid fucking kid, you think you're actually going to accomplish anything?" Puck's dad shouted at a 9 year old Noah. _

_With a swift kick to Noah's ribcage, his father continued shouting. "You think we can pay for that window you broke?"_

_Noah could feel blood trickling down his forehead from when his dad slammed his head into the kitchen table. "I guess you just don't need to eat for a while. That will save us some money…"_

Puck felt warm tears falling down his cheeks as he took another drink. He'd never told anyone how bad it was when his dad was around. Finn probably suspected something, but they never spoke of the random bruises Puck would try to hide or how hungry Puck always was. Finn just always made sure to have extra food for Puck to take home with him.

He missed Finn. He saw the kid every day, but he missed what they had. He knew Finn would be the only one who could help him deal with this right now, but that was out of the question.

He could feel himself slowly drifting off and knew it wasn't smart to fall asleep there, especially with alcohol on school grounds. He slowly got up put the cap back on his whiskey before walking back to his car. He stumbled slightly but grabbed the door handle and yanked the car door open. He put the alcohol under the passenger seat, got in, and began to drive home.

It wasn't the smartest decision, driving drunk, but he didn't care. If he died, it would just save his dad the trouble of killing him. Surprisingly though, Puck got home safe, parking crookedly in his driveway. He turned off the car and sat quietly for a minute, hoping everyone was asleep.

"Welcome home Noah," was the first thing Puck heard as he walked in the door.

A shiver made its way down his spine at the sound of his father's voice. He knew that tone. It was the, I'm-only-going-to-be-calm-for-about-two-minutes voice that he had before a beating would ensue.

"Come sit down with your dad."

"I'm tired. Gonna go to bed." Puck slurred.

After taking a step towards the stairs, Puck felt a hand on his shoulder. "Let's not start off like this son. Time to sit with me for a moment."

Puck sighed. Thankful that he was drunk, maybe things wouldn't hurt so much. He let his father lead him into the living room. Stumbling a bit, he sat on the couch.

"God damn it Noah, are you fucking drunk?" His father's voice was growing angry. He hadn't noticed at first, but it was obvious after a minute in Puck's presence that the teen was wasted.

"Thought you'd notice sooner, seeing as you know drunk so well," Puck remarked snidely.

With that, Puck felt a familiar sting of a hard slap across his face. "Why do you make me do this?" His father asked, not expecting a reply.

"Well…" Puck started, "I figure the sooner we get this out of the way, the sooner you can leave again."

His father sighed and picked up his own half-finished beer. He had been drinking that night too, but Puck was far drunker than his father for once. "There's the attitude your mother was complaining about."

He finished his beer and broke the bottle against Puck's head. Puck winced and looked up at his father, mentally sinking back to a younger version of himself.

"If you hate us so much, why'd you come back?" Puck asked, trying to keep up his end of the fight.

"Your sister needs a father around," his father answered as he grabbed another beer from the 6-pack on the coffee table.

"So she didn't need one before?" Puck knew his dad's answer was bullshit.

"Fine, I needed a place to crash. Doesn't hurt that there's some free sex in it for me." His father smirked and took a swig of beer.

Puck could feel the anger pulsating through him. He wasn't sure if it was because he was drunk or because he was older and angrier than he was when he was 10, but he currently found himself rising from the couch and landing a well-placed punch to his father's stomach.

Coughing slightly, his father laughed. "So you think you can take me now?"

The older man placed his beer on the table and smirked again.

Before Puck could bring up his arm in defense, his father had punched him in the face. As Puck struggled to stay on his feet, his father shoved him to the ground, Puck's head to hit the corner of the coffee table on the way down.

"Oh, now look at that, you've spilled my beer."

Puck could feel his head being surrounded in a warm sticky substance and wasn't sure if it was the spilled beer or his own blood. His head was pounding and he was getting slightly dizzy.

He couldn't focus on that though because his father had begun to kick Puck in the stomach. After a dozen or so kicks, Puck tried to decide if breathing through the pain was actually worth it or not.

Finally his father stopped and opted for another beer instead of another kick.

"Right, well, make sure this is all cleaned up before your mother wakes up. And don't even think about fucking telling her. I'd kill all of you guys before anyone showed up to help."

He finished his beer and threw the bottle at Puck as he lay on the floor. The bottle shattered on the floor next to Puck's face, letting a couple shards fly into his face. His father then turned off the television and went to bed.

Puck wasn't exactly sure of how much pain he was in. He was still slightly drunk and he knew that if he could feel as much pain as he was now, it was probably going to be 10x worse when he was sober. Knowing he couldn't allow himself to stay on the living room floor, he slowly began to sit up. He fought the pain with every breath he took and tried to focus his vision. Once he was in the sitting position, he looked at the ground where he had been laying.

The usual beige carpet now sported a circular crimson stain that he knew would be impossible to clean up right now. Off to the side of that was a light brown stain of beer, surrounded by broken glass. He picked up the bigger pieces and placed them in the grocery bag sitting on the couch that had once held the 6-pack his father had consumed. Once the glass was off the ground, Puck stared at the floor, thinking of how to make this mess unnoticeable. He wished he didn't have to worry about it, wished he could leave it and let his mom find it and kick his dad out. But he knew if his dad saw that the mess wasn't cleaned up, he would receive yet another beating.

He looked up at the clock on the wall and saw it was nearing 2 AM. He then stared at the floor again, this time noticing the rug that was under the coffee table. It took him another 10 minutes to work through the pain, but he moved the rug so that it covered the stains on the carpet. Once nothing looked out of the ordinary, Puck slowly walked to his room, noticing that he couldn't stand up straight without wanting to throw up.

Once he reached his room he grabbed the trash can by his desk and vomited all the alcohol in his system. If he hadn't been so drunk and his vision hadn't been so blurry from the pain, he would have noticed the blood that he vomited up as well.

Instead, he finished with a dry heave and then collapsed on his bed, glad that it wasn't Monday yet.


	2. Chapter 2

Puck woke up at 1PM to the sound of his sister's voice. She was standing in his room, but stood just inside the door with a scared and confused look on her face.

"Noah… Noah!" She was scared at the way her brother looked, but wanted him to wake up. She just didn't want to get any closer to him yet.

"Huh… Sarah?" Puck replied, his voice harsh and raspy.

"Noah, what's wrong with you? Are you okay?" She slowly approached his bed, glad he was awake.

"Yeah baby," he cleared his throat and tried to speak lightly. "I'm going to be fine."

"But what happened?" She had tears in her eyes; her brother never looked like this.

"I'm fine. I was just fighting some monsters last night." He could see her reaction change slightly at his lie. "But they'll never get to you," he added, relieving her 8 year old worries about monsters.

"Thanks Noah. I know you keep them away." She smiled and lightly touched his face. "But I think they hurt you a lot."

"I'll live. Just don't tell momma okay?" He said as he slowly sat up in his bed, trying to hide his pain.

Sarah nodded and watched her big brother. "Do you need anything? I can help."

Noah gave a sad smile. "I just need some water. And I need you to maybe see if you could spend the night at your friend Jamie's tonight."

Sarah smiled. "Yeah! I'll be right back though."

She ran out of the room and came back quickly with water in her plastic Cinderella cup. He smiled and she watched him drink it all.

"I'll go ask momma. See you later Noah." Puck watched her skip out of his bedroom and he set the cup down on his nightstand.

He slowly got off the bed, knowing that he had to figure out how much of him was broken.

He inhaled sharply as he could feel one of his ribs was out of place. He hunched slightly; it hurt too much to stand up straight. He carefully pulled his shirt off with one hand and stood in front of his full length mirror. The damage to his body shocked him. He didn't understand how he could possibly be alive with how bad it looked. His entire stomach and chest was covered in deep purple and black bruises. He could see an odd outline of one of his ribs and he winced with every breath. He had a black eye and several cuts that left dried blood on his forehead and cheeks, probably from where the broken bottle shattered. His Mohawk was matted with the dried blood that came from a gash in the top of his head.

He finally understood why Sarah was so scared of him this morning. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do now. He couldn't exactly tell anyone what happened, but he knew he needed to get his broken rib looked at and he didn't know how bad the cut on his head was. He carefully put a new shirt on before tentatively walking out of his room, making his way out to his car. He needed to avoid everyone in his house. All for different reasons, but all needed to be avoided. Luckily he made it to his car and drove himself to the hospital.

Although he got several odd stares as he entered the ER, he eventually got seen by a doctor.

"Ah, Mr. Puckerman," Dr. Prong began. "What happened son?" the doctor asked not looking up from the file in front of him.

"Uh, car accident," Puck lied casually. He knew Dr. Prong from some previous visits to the ER after some really bad fights at the school. He was also the first and last doctor to ever see the injuries his father had given him when he was 11. That was the last time his father was around. He'd beaten Puck so bad that he'd ended up in the ER and before Puck had even gotten out of the hospital, his father had taken off.

"Mmm, gotta be more careful on the roads." The doctor finally looked at Puck and gave a slight frown. "Alright. Let's take a real look. Where's the damage?"

Puck took off his shirt and let it fall to the side of the hospital bed. "I'm just worried about this rib and a cut on my head."

The doctor gently inspected the rib and the cut on his head. Nodding every so often and giving small grunts of understanding.

"Alright Mr. Puckerman, you definitely look horrible," he laughed. "But you'll be okay. The cut on your head isn't too deep, so that should heal. Your rib is going to heal slowly and painfully. I'm going to go ahead and prescribe you a strong painkiller. All you can do is rest and relax. Put some ice on it every so often and take deep breaths sometimes. It will hurt, but hopefully the painkiller will fix the pain part of it."

Puck nodded, glad that nothing was too serious, "Thanks doc."

The doctor picked up Puck's shirt off the ground and handed it to him. Puck put the shirt back on and accepted the prescription from the doctor, folding it into his wallet.

On his way home, Puck stopped at the pharmacy and filled the prescription. He took his first pill before reaching his house, pocketing the rest of the bottle. He'd try to rest, but he knew the pills would come in handy when his father stuck around to beat him some more.

He looked in the driveway and was glad no one else's car was home. He unlocked the door and went back to his room, fully intending on lying in bed and playing video games all night. Reaching his bedroom, there was a note taped to the door.

_Noah, I'm taking Sarah to Jamie's house for a sleepover then your father and I are going out for dinner. I left $20 on the table, go ahead and order a pizza. We'll see you when we get home._

_-Momma_

Puck smiled and took the note off the door, tossing it in the trash. At the mention of food, he realized he hadn't eaten since last night.

After ordering and eating his pizza, Puck really did spend his Saturday night playing video games and thinking about what he was going to do now that his whole life was fucked up again.

* * *

It was about 11:45 that evening that Puck was woken up. Ever since he was 9, he'd had a reoccurring nightmare about once a month. Even though he'd been having it for years it still terrified him every night that it came up. He'd wake up sweating and crying, sometimes screaming if he didn't wake up in time. When he was younger, his father would beat him if Puck woke up screaming. After his father left, his mother would come to his room when he called out in his sleep and she would wake him and sing to him until he was calm.

Now he was 17 and having his nightmare that his father murdered his mother and sister and beat Puck half to death but he still blamed Noah and told the police it was Noah who'd killed everyone. The police believed Puck's father and as punishment forced Noah to bury his family's bodies.

Unfortunately for Puck, his father woke him out of the nightmare just as the police were handcuffing a 10 year old Puck.

"Wake up and stop crying, pussy," Puck's father said as he slapped Puck's face.

Puck's eyes shot open. "The fuck you want?" He asked bitterly.

"Where's your sister? Aren't you supposta be watchin' her?" His father slurred his words and stared absently at Puck.

"No," he replied, rubbing sleep and tears from his eyes. "She's at a sleep over. Didn't Ma tell you? Where's Ma?"

"Went to bed. And so what if she did tell me. Maybe I forgot," he paused for a moment, taking another drink from the beer he was holding. "Don't take that tone with me. I just wanted to spend time with a girl who isn't as insufferable as your mother was tonight."

Puck was growing angry and scared. He wasn't sure what his father meant. "Well she's not here. But just leave her alone when she is here. She's only 8."

His father's expression twisted in confusion. "I would never do anything to my princess. She doesn't deserve it like you do you punk-ass, useless excuse for a teenager."

As he finished his sentence, he grabbed Puck by his t-shirt and pulled him off the bed. Puck was still tired but he fought off the drunk and shoved his father into the bedroom door and stood up, wincing in pain.

"See, this is what gets you in trouble…" Before Puck could think, his father had dropped his beer to the floor and tackled Puck onto the bedroom floor, allowing Puck's head to slam into his guitar that was sitting on the floor at the end of his bed.

The force of Puck's skull was enough to break the hollow shell of the acoustic guitar. Puck's vision was getting slightly blurry and the weight of his father on top of him made it impossible to fight anymore. For the first time, Puck actually wished he was back in his reoccurring nightmare. At least that was something he could wake up from. This new hell was something he saw no way out of. He passed out just as his father had ripped Puck's shirt and begun to stab Puck's arm and shoulder with the broken pieces of wood.

* * *

Sunday afternoon Puck was really glad that all the Jesus crap had happened last week. He knew he wouldn't be able to handle it at school. He understood Kurt better now. He knew having faith in something didn't make real life any better. Puck wouldn't be able to stand anyone telling him that some sort of god was up there caring for him. It obviously wasn't true.

He should have known it wasn't going to be a pleasant day. It had taken Puck 10 minutes just to be able to get up off the floor and figure out what the day and time was. He didn't remember falling asleep on the floor, but as he passed his mirror on the way to his door, he saw the damage that wasn't there the day before and remembered. There were dozens of cuts and bruises covering his upper left arm and shoulder, leading into his chest. Some of the cuts were deeper than others, but all the blood had dried and some of the more shallow cuts had begun to scab over. He lightly touched them, feeling the heat they were giving off. He closed his eyes and forced himself not to cry. Instead he took a painkiller, put on a shirt, and opened his door.

To his surprise, he found another note from his mother. This one told him there were pancakes in the kitchen and she would be out with Nanna all day.

Much to Puck's dismay, his father was already sitting at the kitchen table, eating pancakes and reading the paper.

"So you are alive today…" His father said, not looking up from the paper.

Puck grunted and took a seat. "No thanks to you." He added pancakes to his plate and began to eat slowly.

His father laughed and took another bite of his breakfast before setting his paper aside. "You're pretty dumb for acting like such a smartass."

Puck rolled his eyes and focused on eating, trying to ignore his father.

"I know you didn't actually clean up the living room the other night… just pulled a rug over the mess… fix it today."

The rest of the meal was eaten in silence. Puck tried to eat as quickly as he could, knowing the sooner he got out today, the better.

After he finished eating, he put his dish in the sink and grabbed the carpet cleaning supplies, hoping to clean the carpet quickly.

It took him about an hour, but finally the stains were out of the carpet. He moved the rug back to its original place and coughed, wincing in pain but also relief as he felt his rib was at least in its proper place. The rest of his afternoon he spent in his room, up until his dad stood in his doorway with a look of confusion and anger on his face.

"What the fuck are you doing boy?" His father asked.

"Just trying to recover so people don't ask questions at school tomorrow about why I look like shit."

His father laughed. "No one cares enough to ask about you. Now get up, you have to clean up from breakfast and do this list of chores your mom left me."

Puck stared in disbelief. "Ma left you chores to do… You mean she actually expects you to do something around here?" He asked sarcastically.

"Shut up you son of a bitch." His father walked into Puck's room and grabbed him by his t-shirt. Puck stumbled as he was pulled into the hallway. "Now get the fuck downstairs and stop being such a smartass." Puck was suddenly thrown down the stairs. He could feel his hip slam against the wooden stairs and his ankle twist harshly. Finally he landed at the bottom, hitting the side of his face on the floor, causing him to bite the inside of his cheek.

With a groan, Puck waited to see if his father was going to continue. When nothing came and he heard doors slam upstairs, Puck knew he got lucky on this one. His father could have done much worse.

He slowly stood up and tested his ankle, gently putting weight on his foot. He was happy it wasn't broken, but it caused a definite limp. He limped off to the kitchen and began to clean up from breakfast.

Moments later, he heard footsteps behind him. He quickly turned around, his vision blurring slightly as he tried to focus on the new situation.

"I want you out of the house." Puck's father demanded.

"What… the fuck?" Puck didn't know what to say. This was not at all what he had expected.

"You heard me. Get the fuck out. I'd keep beating it into you, but your mother will begin to notice. So get out and your mother will just know it's because you're a useless delinquent."

Puck stared at his father again. "You're the one that doesn't belong here. I'm not leaving."

Puck's father seemed to know he was up for a fight though. He moved quickly and slammed Puck's head into the kitchen counter. As Puck tried to gain balance, his father grabbed Puck's arm and bent in backwards. Puck could hear the crack before the pain itself even set in. He could feel tears fall down his cheeks and he hated that his own eyes were betraying him. He never wanted to cry because of this man again. He'd promised himself that when he was 10, but he'd failed.

"Now go pack a bag and get out. Maybe leave your mother a note, telling her not to find you. That'd be nice, now wouldn't it?" His father said almost happily. "And don't try to call here either. I could always just kill them, now couldn't I?"

Puck nodded and let out a choked sob as his head was throbbing again and his arm felt like it was on fire. He got off his knees and slowly limped up to his room, making sure his painkillers were the first thing in his bag.

After about 15 minutes, his father was back at his door. Puck had his bag packed and he'd left 2 notes. One he gave to his father to give to his mom, and the other he hid in Sarah's room with instructions to give to mom when dad wasn't around. He knew Sarah would understand what she needed to do. He hid that one before his 15 minutes were up and he hoped his father wasn't smart enough to search for a hidden note.

Puck then grabbed his keys and drove off, heading for nowhere in particular.

His arm was in a massive amount of pain and he was sure he had a concussion, but he couldn't go back to the hospital. There would be questions and then police, social services- no; he just had to get out. No one would believe Puck. He'd been in enough trouble with the police over the years, they wouldn't care and they wouldn't do anything.

He took another pain killer and kept driving. Hours later, he found himself in Columbus, Ohio. The first thing he did was find a hospital and use his excuse of a car accident.


	3. Chapter 3

Monday morning, Puck stopped at a payphone in Columbus, Ohio and called Jacob- McKinley's resident paparazzi. He was an anonymous caller, letting Jacob have the tip that Noah Puckerman had finally landed himself in juvie. Puck knew Jacob would put some sort of story together, thinking it was all the truth.

Puck then spent the next week living out of his car and making friends with a lot of the wrong people. Even with a broken arm, he kept up his badass persona, making sure no one messed with him.

What people don't know about Columbus, Ohio is that it can get dangerous and sketchy when you find the deep, seedy places in the alleyways. It's not as bad as living on the streets of New York or Chicago, but Columbus was still a major city, and it had its own level of disturbing.

For one, crystal meth had a major market in the Midwestern states. Ohio was caught up in the meth trade and Puck learned quickly which alleyways were for which illegal activity. There were the streets for prostitution, the ones for gangs, the ones for hard drugs- meth, coke, heroin- and the alleys for simpler things like weed and underage drinking.

After spending a couple nights smoking weed and drinking beers with some random Columbus teenage dropouts, Puck found himself in the wrong alleyway. He had been waiting for his cell to ring. He would know if his mom got the second note if she called him. So far, he'd spent a week with no phone calls. That meant 2 things. His friends bought the story of him being in juvie, and his sister hadn't yet found and/or given the second note.

He'd met a random guy named Isaac the previous night and they decided to get drunk together to 'celebrate' Puck's first week on the streets. Once they were drunk, Isaac led him down a maze of streets and kept Puck off to the side as he talked to an older, creepy looking guy. After a couple minutes, Isaac pulled Puck back towards Puck's car.

"Du… where we goin'" Puck slurred as he followed Isaac.

"Your car, man, we're gonna get high." Isaac replied with a smile.

Puck smiled, thinking Isaac just bought some weed. "A'ight man. Needed some weed."

Puck unlocked his car and the two teens slid into the backseat. He closed his eyes and leaned back in the seat, allowing Issac to prepare the drugs. After a minute or so, Isaac nudged Puck in the side, causing Puck to flinch and hiss in pain. "Wha was that for man?"

"Sorry bro, it's ready, take a hit and that shit won't hurt anymore." Isaac said, glancing at Puck's side. Puck had drunkenly showed him the bruises earlier in the night, briefly mentioning his dad was an asshole.

Puck took the pipe from Isaac and smoked. After inhaling what he was thought was going to be weed, he coughed and sputtered. "THE FUCK WAS THAT?" He shouted, the first sober words he'd said in hours.

"Something better than what you've been dealing with," Isaac said as he took the pipe from Puck and got a hit for himself.

Puck stared at the other guy in his car. He knew weed, and he had no idea what the fuck he'd just inhaled but he'd bet his life on the fact it wasn't weed.

"Here," Isaac handed the pipe back to Puck. "Just take another hit. You're gonna be fine. You deserve to feel this good."

Puck hesitated. The damage was already done. He wasn't sure if it was because he had been living alone in his car for a week or because he was drunk and now partially high on crystal meth, but he took another hit before coughing again and shoving the pipe back into Isaac's hand.

"Alright, I'm done. I can't do this shit man."

Isaac finished off what was in the pipe and stuck all the supplies back in his jacket pocket. "How do you feel though man?"

Puck thought for a minute. His head was swimming with drunken thoughts, but he also felt amazing, like he could do anything right now. "My stomach kinda hurts… but I gotta do something man. I can't sit here anymore… what'd I just smoke?"

Isaac smiled. "Meth. Now let's get out of here. I know some girls that would love to make this night even better."

Puck's head shot up, "I don't pay for my sex dude." He tried to ignore the fact that he had just done crystal meth. He never imagined that he would ever have that in his system.

"Neither do I. We're covered man. Just follow me."

They got out of the car and Puck followed Isaac. They practically ran a mile and a half until they reached a rundown apartment on a dark street. Isaac pulled out his phone and made a quick call that Puck wasn't paying attention too. He had so many things inside of him. His body was feeling too many sensations at once and he just wanted the world to stop moving. He could almost feel the spinning of the planet. After what seemed like an hour to Puck, the boys were heading up a long flight of stairs to a dimly lit apartment. As soon as he was in the apartment, Isaac walked over and began making out with some girl who had been sitting on the couch. Puck then saw the girl who had led them up the stairs turn to him.

"I'm Jen, not that it matters." She pulled his waist towards her and smiled at him.

Puck wasn't sure where he was or why he was there, but he knew what the codes for sex were and he was in for it.

"Puck," he stated before leaning in and closing the gap between their lips.

What followed their short introduction was the best sex of Puck's life. He knew it must have been the meth that did it, but he felt such euphoria with every touch Jen made.

After 2 hours of perfect sex, Puck passed out in a bed for the first time in a week.

* * *

The next morning, Puck woke up to pure silence. It was as if his mind couldn't sense anything except the extreme pain his body was in. He tried to move, but could feel tears well up in his eyes. He glanced around the room and saw a random girl lying next to him. Next to her was a night stand with an alarm clock, gleaming with the numbers 1:26 PM. He had no idea how much sleep he had gotten, but it probably wasn't enough. He tried to remember where he was and why he was there, but he couldn't really remember. He just remembered the drugs, running a lot and then having sex. Everything else was blank. He slowly pulled himself up so he was leaning against the headboard of the bed. He let out a soft groan as he adjusted to his sitting position, happy that the noise and movement didn't wake the girl.

He looked around the room and spotted his clothes strewn at the foot of the bed. He quietly and gradually got out of bed and put on his clothes, his body aching in pain with every small movement. He could feel a couple tears begin to fall. What hurt most was the throbbing headache and the fractured rib that hadn't gotten the chance to heal properly.

Once he was dressed, he checked his phone, still hoping that his mother was going to call any day now. When his phone showed no missed calls or texts, Puck put it back in his pocket and sighed, causing him to cringe in pain again. It was difficult to breath and it took most of his energy just to do so. He suddenly heard movement from the other room and slowly walked out towards the sound.

"Puck!" Isaac said excited but quiet. "I was hoping you'd be up soon. Did you get anything from her?"

Puck raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Uh… she's still sleeping."

Isaac smiled. "No worries dude." He turned around and walked towards the bookcase in the corner of the room and searched for a certain book. Puck had no idea what was going on, but he was sure he was going to be getting as far away from this kid as soon as he could.

Quickly, Isaac found what he was looking for. He pulled a thick book off the shelf and opened it, taking a flask and a wad of bills out of the book that was apparently hollow.

He replaced the book on the shelf and ushered Puck out of the apartment. As they walked down the stairs, slowly for Puck's sake, Isaac handed him $200 in cash.

"The fuck is this for?" Puck asked, secretly happy for having some money he desperately needed.

"Services rendered." Isaac could see the confusion still on Puck's face. "She needed a service and you provided it for her last night. And apparently it was good. You guys kept me awake for hours."

Puck shrugged. Out of all the things he'd done over the past week, this was by far the least concerning to him. He pocketed the money as they finally reached the street outside.

"Alright man. It was a blast last night… I gotta head to a buddy's uptown. Can you get back to your car?" Isaac asked, squinting in the sun.

"Actually… No. I have no idea where we are," Puck admitted.

Isaac laughed. "No worries." He hailed a taxi and motioned for Puck to get in. "I don't think you'd be able to walk in your condition anyway." He then spoke to the taxi driver. "Take him to the Beaumont and Clark intersection." Turning back to Puck he finished his thought. "Your car is in the Wheels Pub parking lot out back. Give me a call if you want to hang again."

Puck nodded and was thankful when Isaac walked off, allowing the driver to take him back to his car. As soon as he made it back to his car, he took a couple painkillers and began to cry. The parking lot was empty, but even if it had been full of people, he just didn't care anymore. He was so tired and he was in far too much pain to care. He'd been run out of his own home by a guy who claimed to be his father, lived on the streets for a week, and now he'd officially done crystal meth. He tried to think about how he even got to this point in the first place. He'd just up and left Lima. His dad never said he had to leave Lima. Why didn't he just go to Finn's house, or anyone else's for that matter?

Then he remembered; they probably didn't care. He quietly cried himself to sleep in his car, only waking up at 7 PM because his phone began to ring. Not even looking at the caller ID, he answered quickly.

"Mom?"

"Uh, no… The fuck is up with you Puckerman?" Santana sounded confused and bitchy.

He pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at the screen, confirming it was indeed Santana. "Oh, sorry San, I was waiting for my mom to call."

"Right… Well, how's juvie? And how do you actually have your phone?"

"It's boring as hell. I'm pretty much top dog here, so I got a couple people to look the other way sometimes. I have to hide it most of the time, but I laid some Puckerman magic down with the female guard who's on duty now." He was amazed at how perfect he was at lying.

"You would… well anyway, I was going to leave you a message, but when do you get back?"

Puck sighed. He really wished he knew when he could go back home. "I… I'm not sure San. They haven't really told me exactly when. I'm guessing like a month, but could be less for good behavior."

"Ha, good behavior. So a month then?"

"We'll see," Puck knew he needed to get off the phone. The key to a good lie was to keep it short and simple. A long talk with San and she could probably get the truth out of him. "Look, I have to go. They're gonna switch shifts soon and I don't really wanna lay the moves on a guy."

They said a quick goodbye and he stared at the clock on his phone and sighed. Taking another pain killer, he started his car and began to drive. He needed food and he needed to get somewhere new.

* * *

After driving over to Delaware, Puck took out his wallet and began to count the money he still had. He had $300 left to last him for who knows how long. The $200 he apparently made for having sex the previous night really was a life saver right now; it replaced the $200 he'd spent over the week. He had brought $300 with him when he'd left his house. It's all he'd saved up from his pool cleanings and petty theft over the years.

It was now very early Tuesday morning. He drove to the nearest motel and just parked, wondering if he should actually get a room or not. Finally, he decided he just needed a real shower and bed for one night.

After getting a room, he nearly collapsed on the bed, but he knew he wanted a shower first. So after a warm shower, he crawled into bed and turned on the TV for background noise as he fell asleep.

Three hours after falling asleep, it was 7AM and he woke to his ringing phone. He let out a groan and then picked up the phone, not even looking at who was calling.

"No..Noah?" The voice on the other end was shaky and small, but Puck knew it immediately.

"Momma?" Puck sat up in bed quickly. He regretted it though as his vision grew burry and he had to breathe harder through the pain, but he didn't care.

"Noah, baby. I can't believe it. I'm… I'm so sorry. Are you alright?" She sounded nervous but safe.

"I'm alright now Ma. Are you and Sarah okay?"

"Noah, you come home right now. It's all going to be over this afternoon."

Puck ran his hand through his mohawk and laughed with happiness. "I'll be there soon Momma. I'm in Delaware, so it'll be a couple hours… I love you Ma."

"I know baby. I'll see you soon and we'll talk then."

They hung up and Puck wanted to jump with joy. He would have, if the pain still coursing through his body forced him to do otherwise. He instead took a pain killer and gathered his things, checking out of the motel only 4 hours after checking in.

* * *

**Note 1**

_Ma,_

_I'm gone. Please don't try and find me. I don't know where I'm going yet, but I've taken my car and won't have my phone. Leave me alone okay? I'm a screw up and I don't want to be around this family anymore. Tell Sarah I love her, but I can't fight her monsters anymore. Actually don't tell her that. Just… leave me alone. I love you and all, but I just, I need to be away for a while. Don't contact anyone at school. They won't know anything and they haven't been my friends for a long time._

_Puck_

**Note 2**

On Envelope: _Sarah, baby, you are very important right now in the fight against the biggest monster ever. I'm going to be gone for a few days and I need you to give this to Momma ONLY when you two are alone. This is very important, otherwise the monster will win. I love you so very much. _

Inside:_ Momma, ignore the previous note. It's all hard to explain, but dad… he started hitting me the night he got back. Then he beat me again on Saturday and Sunday he kicked me out. He said if I didn't leave and stay away, he'd kill you and Sarah both. I do have my phone on me and I need you to call me when you get this note. I had to leave it in me and Sarah's secret hiding place 'cause it's the only place he would never find it. I don't have much time. If you get this and call me, we'll talk when I get back. I think I'll be in Columbus. I have nowhere else to go but I know I can't be in Lima in case he sees me. I love you and I love Sarah. Please be okay._

_Noah_


	4. Chapter 4

Puck got back home at 10AM and cautiously walked in the front door. He didn't see his father's car out front, so he hoped for the best. Luckily, he only found himself face to face with his mother and baby sister. He was glad she was home, even if it meant her skipping school.

As soon as he was in the door, his mother embraced him in a tight hug, ignoring the cast on his arm, until he muttered something about not being able to breathe. Then Sarah ran up and hugged him, smiling bigger than ever. "Did you beat the monster? Did we do it?" She asked excitedly.

Puck looked up at his mother and saw a solemn nod. He then picked Sarah up with one arm, ignoring the pain and hugging her tighter. "Yeah. We did it. You and I babe, we took him down." He smiled. The expression felt foreign on his face, but he was glad he could still smile at her.

He walked back over to the couch with her and sat down.

"Sarah," his mother said gently, "Can you go play upstairs for a little bit. I have to talk to Noah for a little while."

Sarah nodded and gave Puck a kiss on the check before running upstairs.

"Noah… I am so… sorry. I wanted to look for you… even with the first note… but he wouldn't let me…" His mother began to cry and Puck hated seeing her cry.

"Ma it's okay, it's not your fault." Puck then proceeded to tell her the entire story. He left out the parts about living on the streets and in his car and doing drugs, but he otherwise told the truth.

"I know it wasn't the best way to do things… but I didn't know what else to do. He only gave me a few minutes to get my things and write a note, so I wrote the fake one that I knew he'd read and left the real one where I knew Sarah would find it eventually… I couldn't go to anyone. He said he'd kill you both before anyone would actually be able to help me… I probably shouldn't have believed him on that… but I mean…he had followed through on a lot of other threats last time he was here…"

Puck's mom nodded and ran her hand through her son's hair. "It's okay baby. It's going to be fine now. He's gone for good this time… Sarah found the note last night but kept it until she knew your father was leaving this morning for his 'job' that he apparently found. I contacted the police and apparently he was wanted on other charges anyway…" She paused, wiping tears from her son's cheeks before taking care of the ones of her own that had been falling.

"Now, let me see what he's done."

Puck nodded and with his mother's help, slipped his shirt off again. She let out a small gasp as she saw the still deep purple bruising covering Puck's entire front side and several across his back.

"Baby… I don't think this is healing properly…" She gently ran her fingers over his ribcage and frowned. "Come on, we're getting you to the hospital." Puck nodded again and his mom helped him stand up. He walked out to the car as his mother called Sarah down and got her ready to spend so time in the hospital waiting room. She probably should have had her daughter attend school that day, but after everything, she just wanted to be with her children.

At the hospital, Puck sat in the doctor's room with his shirt off again, glad Dr. Prong was on duty again tonight. He'd asked his mother to take Sarah to get some lunch, knowing this might take a while, but also knowing he had some other questions to ask the doctor. Once they had left the room, Puck looked over to his doctor and said everything on his mind.

"So, I know I said last week that these were from a car accident, but they're not. They're from my dad." He then proceeded to tell his doctor the entire story, including the drugs and the random sex.

"I just… I never wanted to do meth. I'm… I'm scared of what is gonna happen now that it has been in my system… and I was hoping for an STD test or something. I don't think we… were safe." It was hard to admit, but he was scared. He'd never been so scared in his life than he had been over the past week, really ever since his dad walked back into their house.

Dr. Prong nodded and made several notes in his chart. "I am so sorry for all of this Noah… here's what we're going to do… if it's okay with you. We're going to document all your injuries officially and call social services about your father. I'm also going to run the full STD tests on you and I'll page the drug and alcohol counselor who's on duty right now. She can talk to you about your concerns. I take it your mother doesn't know about the things from this past week."

The entire ordeal took until 4PM that night. The hospital fed him some crappy hospital food and he colored with Sarah as they curled up in the hospital bed waiting for various people, be it social services, test results, or other doctors. They x-rayed his ribs and found that his mother was right, the fractured rib was getting worse.

"Noah, Ms. Puckerman, we did discover some complications in your condition," his doctor stated calmly. His mother gripped Noah's hand tightly and tensed up, but he continued.

"It will be okay. But you need to stay here tonight. It's called Haemothorax. It just means that there is blood trapped in the bottom of your lung. We need to drain it and make sure it's not going to happen again before we let you go."

Puck nodded and his mother's grip loosened slightly. So at 4PM, Puck was checked in and moved from the ER to an overnight room. Once his mother and Sarah had left for the evening Puck's doctor returned with more test results and a tall blonde woman behind him.

"Good news at last Noah!" His doctor exclaimed gently. "Your tests came back clear. You're negative for all STDs, but you do need to come back in 6 months for the AIDs/HIV test. That's the only one we can't do now."

Puck smiled and gave a sigh of relief. He really dodged a bullet on that one.

"Well…" his doctor continued. "This is Vera Loane. She is our resident drug counselor and is happy to help you out tonight. I'll be back tomorrow. Do you have any questions for me?"

Puck shook his head gently. "No. But thank you so much man."

"Don't worry about it Noah. Get some rest." With that, Dr. Prong left the room.

Puck turned to Vera Loane and gave a small smile.

She figured she should start off somewhere. "So, can you talk to me about what happened?"

Puck closed his eyes for a minute before he began to tell his story. "I mean, I've always done weed, I've never had a problem with it. And I drink sometimes, but none of that is what I'm worried about. I mean, I come off as a bad boy and all, but I never ever wanted to do anything more than weed. I know it can fuck up lives real bad. But then, this guy… on Sunday… we were drunk and I thought he'd bought weed, but… it turned out to be meth. I just, I don't know, I just don't want to be like accidentally addicted or something."

Ms. Loane nodded and listened to Puck's worries.

"Well I don't think you have anything to worry about Noah. I think you really need to lay off of the weed though, I don't think it's helping. Have you had any urge to do meth since Sunday?"

Puck thought but then shook his head. "No. I mean, I felt good for like a minute, but I hated everything about that night. I really never want to feel that way again."

"Good. That's a good place to be. The meth, mixed with the alcohol, mixed with all the pain you were already in, was not a good combination. The tests on your lungs will come back tomorrow after they finish draining the blood. They can then test and make sure there's been no damage due to the smoking."

Puck smiled, finally thinking that maybe this wasn't going to be such a big issue after all.

She continued, pulling a card out of her folder and handing it to him. "Here is my cell number. If you are ever even thinking about any sort of drugs, you call me, okay?"

He nodded. Normally he would have made a comment about getting a girl's number or hospital booty calls, but he was too thankful for her.

"Noah, I know you're going to be okay. Everything will work itself out."

Puck hugged her and she left, really hoping that he would be okay.


	5. Chapter 5

After a night at the hospital, sleeping on and off and having his lungs drained as he slept, Puck got to go home. Luckily, as long as he didn't get hurt, stopped smoking anything, and didn't do any rigorous activity for the next 6 weeks at least, he would make a full recovery.

Puck spent Wednesday at home with his mom. In the late afternoon, social services came by Puck had to tell them everything about his dad. He was thankful that his mother kept Sarah occupied in the kitchen while he was telling them everything. She didn't need to know the truth about the monster Puck fought off.

Once he had finished telling them every memory he had of his father, they brought Sarah in and began to ask her questions. Puck held his breath waiting for her every answer.

"Sarah," the social worker asked, "did you know the man that was here over the last week or so was your father?"

"Yeah," she answered confidently. "He kept telling me I was his baby girl."

"Did he ever do anything that hurt you or made you feel uncomfortable?"

Sarah was quiet for a moment, trying to think. "Mmmm… I don't think so. He got mad at me last week though and yelled…" She turned to Puck to finish her sentence. "He said 'I'm so angry I kinda wish Noah was here'." She did her best manly voice to mimic her father's voice.

The social worker nodded and gave a small smile to acknowledge Sarah's answer.

The rest of the visit was fairly easy. They discussed what was going to happen to his father and what all this would mean for the family.

Finally, the social workers left and Puck was left to enjoy his night with his mom and sister. He knew he had to go back to school tomorrow and face everyone. Hopefully they would completely believe the juvie story.

* * *

He walked into the choir room for the usual morning glee meeting and everyone was shocked, Santana most of all.

"Puck," Mr. Schue exclaimed. "No one told me you were coming back today."

"Hey man, how was juvie?" Mike asked over everyone's side gossip and conversations.

"Psh, I got sick of it. I picked a fight with a guard and when he broke my arm they let me go as long as I didn't make a big deal out of it."

Puck could see Santana sitting in the back, raising an eyebrow, but he ignored it.

"Right, well, take a seat and we'll get started." Mr. Schue said, lightly placing his arm around Puck's shoulder before gently pushing him towards the chairs. "Glad to have you back."

Puck winced slightly at the touch but it went unnoticed by almost everyone. He took his usual seat and the glee meeting began.

Nothing eventful really happened the rest of the day. It wasn't until after their glee rehearsal after school that Puck was getting tired and irritable. He had taken a painkiller before he left the house, but needed another one and didn't want to take it in front of everyone.

So leaving the auditorium, everyone went their separate ways and Puck took out his pills, taking one and putting the bottle back in his jacket pocket.

"So, did juvie get you into drugs or something?" Santana asked from behind him.

Puck turned around and sighed. "What are you talking about? Did you get all mental while I was gone?"

Santana gave a smirk and reached towards his pocket. "You know what I'm talking about. Popping pills now?"

"Just leave it Santana. They're for my arm. Now, I've got places to be." Puck moved away from her and began to head towards the school exit.

Santana didn't move, she just called to him while he walked. "You're lying about something and I will find out. Trust me on that."

He waved a hand over his shoulder, dismissing her comment. He wasn't going to worry about her when he had more important things to be thinking about.

* * *

The next day wasn't as easy as his first one. It was Friday and no one seemed to be paying attention to anything that wasn't gossip and rumors. Most of them were now regarding him. He could tell this was the work of Santana.

After an entire school day of people making shit up about him, some of them actually having the guts to confront him about some stuff, Puck had had enough. At their glee rehearsal, Puck walked into the choir room, only to be bombarded with more questions.

"Puck, this better not be true," Quinn stated, sounding angry and in full bitch mode.

"What are you talking about Quinn?" He asked exasperated.

"That you were gone looking for Beth instead of in juvie."

"That's fucking insane Quinn. Why would I do that?"

Quinn let out a huff and crossed her arms over her chest. "Because you are mad at me about giving her up and you want her."

"Yeah, that's definitely not true. I was in juvie, not looking for a baby that isn't mine anymore." He walked past her and went to take his seat but was stopped in the middle of the room.

"What about the rumor that-" Rachel began to ask.

"It's probably not true. All this shit is just rumors! Leave me the fuck alone about it." Puck was really agitated. He had gotten to take a painkiller during lunch today, but all the bullshit he kept being confronted with was not helping keep him calm.

"Yeah guys," Finn said, putting his arm around Puck's shoulder and squeezing him tight for a moment. "Our Puck is just your average juvenile delinquent-"

"Don't touch me dude!" Puck said angrily. His entire upper half was still in a lot of pain when people touched him.

Finn let go and took his own seat, not even bothering to finish his sarcastic insult.

Before Puck could take his own seat, Santana began to walk to him in the middle. "Well, see here's the thing Puckerman. Your story just doesn't add up…" Her confident bitch attitude was practically dripping from her voice.

"Drunk driving a car into an ATM and going to juvie for a week and a half? All of that was only ever even heard from Jacob, by the way, so we know most of it can't really be true. But the funny part is that I talked to you on Monday night… and you said… what was it again… you had a month left in the joint. So it really is quite a surprise to see you back so soon."

Puck sighed but it turned into a coughing fit that brought him to his knees on the ground. Santana backed away from him as Mr. Schue walked into the room. He saw Puck on the floor and ran over to the teen.

"Puck? Puck, are you okay?" Mr. Schue placed his hand on Puck's back and watched him cough.

As the coughing ceased, Puck pulled his hand away from his mouth, allowing himself to see he had coughed up blood. Dr. Prong had warned him that might happen a couple times, but that it would be okay. Mr. Schue, however wasn't aware of this, and he saw the blood.

"Noah, I think you need to get to a hospital. Can you stand up?"

Puck nodded his head and stood up slowly. Once he was standing, Mr. Schue grabbed a tissue from the box on top of the piano and handed it to Puck.

Puck wiped the blood off his hand and looked around. Everyone was in shock, but only Santana and Mr. Schue had seen the blood.

Santana automatically went into soft bitch mode. "Alright, now you have to explain. Why the fuck are you coughing up blood?"

Mr. Schue gave Santana a look, letting her know to watch her language, but he too, was curious.

Puck could see how concerned everyone in the room had suddenly become. He looked at the doors and indicated that someone should close them. Rachel jumped up from her chair and quickly closed the door. Mr. Schue grabbed a chair from the front row and brought it to Puck. Once Puck had sat down, Mr. Schue pulled another chair for himself and Santana took a seat in the front row.

"I wasn't in juvie, okay?" Puck began, his voice low and slightly nervous.

"I was living on the streets in Columbus." Everyone waited for him to continue, but he didn't say anything else.

"Why would you do that? And what does that have to do with the blood?" Finn asked bluntly.

"Because my dad came back. Is that what you want to know? My dad came back Finn." It was easier for Puck to address Finn directly than to tell everyone in general.

Finn tensed up slightly. He remembered the bruises and lies Puck used to tell. They had an unspoken rule that they never talked about it.

"He came back, beat the crap out of me a couple times, then kicked me out of the house. Told me not to come back or he'd kill my mom and sister. I had nowhere else to go, so I just drove, and I ended up in Columbus."

Mr. Schue's eyes snapped to Puck's face. "Noah, I have to report this… and you need to be checked out…"

Puck shook his head. "Already taken care of Mr. Schue." Puck slowly stood up and pulled his shirt off.

After several audible gasps from people in the room, Puck continued.

"He broke a rib and it hasn't healed properly. I spent Tuesday night in the hospital after I drove back here. Ma and I spent Wednesday with social services."

"Dude, you should have called me!" Finn said angrily, standing up from his seat.

"Really man? Call you? If you hadn't realized, you kind of hate me lately." Puck replied bitterly.

"Yeah, but I would have been there for you on this. I have in the past, you know that!"

Other people in glee began to put the pieces together. They realized Puck's dad had done this for years before he left. It all explained so much about who Puck was.

"Puck…" Kurt chimed in gently. "Any one of us would have helped you."

"Well, what's done is done. The streets sucked and I did a lot of shit I regret, but it's all fine now, okay? Just leave it alone." He directed the last line at Santana, hoping she really would leave things alone now.

"Wait… what'd you do?" Finn asked, not taking a hint.

"Don't worry about it. Street stuff, okay? I just need to get through this." Puck put his shirt back on and hated that he'd let anything about Columbus slip out.

People seemed to get that he didn't want to talk about it anymore. They accepted his answers and let him be for now.

After glee that day, Mr. Schue pulled Puck aside gently.

"Puck are you sure you're okay?" He gave his best sympathetic teacher smile but it only made Puck irritated.

"I'm great Mr. Schue. I love telling everyone everything about me." He answered sarcastically.

Mr. Schue paused for a moment before he spoke again. "Well if you ever need to talk, I'm here, but I think you should also go see Miss Pillsbury. She might be able to help."

"Yeah, I'll be okay without being shrinked, but thanks."

"Puck, singing about these past couple weeks might help you too."

"I'll think about it." Puck turned away and walked out the door, really debating if he wanted to sing for all of them about the shit he's just gone through.

* * *

On Monday in glee club, everyone seemed to be unsure of what to do around Puck. Everyone felt bad that they hadn't noticed anything. They just accepted the rumors of him being in juvie and no one even thought that something worse could be happening. It only made them feel worse when Puck stood up at the beginning of rehearsal and announced that he needed to sing.

"Mr. Schue, you said I should sing something. So I prepared something over the weekend when some stuff was happening…"

"Of course Noah, the floor is all yours." He was about to pat Puck on the back, but left his hand in midair, remembering that might not be the best idea. So he turned to the group and brought their attention to Puck. "Guys, quiet down. Before we begin this week's lesson, Puck's got something to sing for us."

Puck grabbed a guitar and stood in the middle, all eyes were on him. The music began and the band accompanied him, which he was completely okay with because the song really needed to be complete in order for him to feel everything he needed to feel.

_No time for goodbye he said_

_As he faded away_

_Don't put your life in someone's hands_

_They're bound to steal it away_

_Don't hide your mistakes_

_'Cause they'll find you, burn you_

_Then he said_

_If you want to get out alive_

_Whoa-oh, run for your life_

_If you want to get out alive_

_Whoa-oh, run for your life_

_This is my last time she said_

_As she faded away_

_It's hard to imagine_

_But one day you'll end up like me_

_Then she said_

_If you want to get out alive_

_Whoa-oh, run for your life_

_If you want to get out alive_

_Whoa-oh, run for your life_

_If you want to get out alive (If you want to get out alive)_

_Whoa-oh, run for your life (Life)_

_If you want to get out alive (If you want to get out alive)_

_Whoa-oh, run for your life_

Puck closed his eyes as he continued, channeling all his anger, fear, and sadness into the song he was singing. It was all he could do not to cry. He refused to cry over his father anymore, especially in public.

_If I stay it won't be long_

_'Til I'm burning on the inside_

_If I go I can only hope_

_That I make it to the other side_

_If you want to get out alive_

_Whoa-oh, run for your life_

_If you want to get out alive_

_Whoa-oh, run for..._

_If you want to get out alive (If you want to get out alive)_

_Whoa-oh, run for your life_

_If you want to get out alive (If you want to get out alive)_

_Whoa-oh, run for..._

_If I stay, it won't be long_

_'Til I'm burning on the inside_

_If I go I can only hope_

_That I make it to the other side_

_If I stay, it won't be long_

_'Til I'm burning on the inside_

_If I go, and if I go_

_Burning on the inside_

_Burning on the inside_

_Burning on the inside  
_

No one knew what to say. Puck's song was so passionate and raw that it made everyone scared to see him that vulnerable. In that moment he seemed like such a different Puck than the guy they knew.

Since no one was speaking, Puck knew he would have to open up more.

"My dad was officially brought up on charges of child abuse this morning… I'm not going to open up to you guys and spill all my feelings and secrets, but I know that you guys are going to be here for me. You've made that clear… This song… I had to run 2 weeks ago because there was no way I was going to survive… He left when I was 11 because he beat me so bad I was in the hospital for a week over the summer… hadn't seen him in 6 years. So yeah, I ran, not only 'cause he threatened me, ma, and Sarah, but because I was scared as fuck. I'm not scared of anything guys, you know I'm badass, but from the day he walked in the door until the day I got to drive home to my ma… I was terrified."

Puck took a deep breath, looking at his friends. "As long as he ends up in prison, this whole nightmare is over… Now can we please stop being all touchy-feely and shit?"

Mr. Schue laughed to relieve the tension. "Yeah Puck, no more feelings."

As Mr. Schue began the week's lesson, Noah Puckerman didn't realize how much his song resonated with everyone. There were cracks in the walls he'd put up and his friends were planning on helping him tear the walls down… or at least they'd help put in a door that Puck could let people in as he would see fit.

* * *

**The song is **'Get Out Alive'** by Three Days Grace. Other songs I considered were **'Hast Thou Considered the Tetrapod'** by The Mountain Goats, **'Father of Mine'** by Everclear, and **'Just Like You'** by Three Days Grace.**

**Anyway, I hope you guys like it. It was fun to write and I know that some things might not be totally fluid regarding time or make since about the effects of meth. I've never done meth, so Google had to inform me on that aspect. The fic probably could have been better and I could have done more with it, but it kind of just took a turn I didn't mean for it to take, so this is what we get. Please review and let me know what you guys think.**

**I have no idea what I'm going to be writing next, but you can probably bet that I'll be making lives miserable.**


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